WhatStove?

Review of Aarrow Ecoburn Plus 9 multifuel stove

poor grate design

John Hall 10 years ago

If you are requiring a true multifuel stove my advice is not to buy any Aarrow model with the Flexifuel grate. After running this stove for several months I gave up trying to burn soft or hard smokeless fuel as the grate is incapable of riddling the ash. The result is that overnight burning is impossible which in my circumstances is essential. The Flexifuel grate can best be described as a wood burning grate with a nervous twitch.

I have contacted Aarrow and expressed my views and have been told that I should fit an older set of firebars which will cost me approximately £50+ which I resent having to pay for. I am dubious as to the effectiveness of this solution.

Also, I have found that the stove controls are very difficult to calibrate and very hot to touch. As for the air wash system on the glass, I have little to say that can commend it as the only way to keep the glass clean beyond 5 hours is to run it constantly on a high burn rate, thus using large amounts of fuel.

The only feature that I can recommend regarding the Ecoburn Plus 9 is that it does put out a good amount of heat.

I purchased this stove in order to replace an older Aarrow multifuel stove which I had run for 25 years and had performed superbly, being run 24/7 for six moths of each year. To compare the two stoves in any respect, is like chalk and cheese. The irony is that I looked at, and carefully examined many other stoves before buying the Ecoburn 9 yet it was the one make which was not held in stock. I bought blind based on the information contained within the Aarrow brochure and website and most importantly that I had run an Aarrow stove for 25 years with perfect results and consequently had full confidence in the brand. What a costly mistake I made.

Overall rating:

1.5 flames

Build Quality 2 flames (avg 3.7)
Quality of finish 2 flames (avg 3.7)
Value for money 2 flames (avg 3.7)
Ease of use 1 flames (avg 3)
Ease of lighting 3 flames (avg 4)
Firebox size 3 flames (avg 4)
How well does the airwash work 2 flames (avg 4)
Controllability 1 flames (avg 3.3)
Handle operation 1 flames (avg 2.7)
How likely are you to buy it again? 1 flames (avg 3)
What is your overall satisfaction? 1 flames (avg 3)